st. louis, mo

THEY SAY THERE ARE TWO SIDES TO EVERY STORY.

At Girls on the Run, the story is as

much about the VOLUNTEERS

as it is about the GIRLS.

We believe that every girl can embrace who she is, can define who she wants to be, can rise to any challenge, can change the world. Can.

In 1996 Girls on the Run started with 26 girls. Today, that number has grown past one million, but it’s not about the numbers. It’s the stories behind them that count. These stories all started with one person who made the choice to transform their life and the lives around them.

10 weeks. 20 lessons. 3.1 miles.

MAKE A

DIFFERENCE

SEE THEIMPACT

MAKE A

DIFFERENCE

THEY SAY THERE ARE TWO SIDES TO EVERY STORY. AT GIRLS ON THE RUN, THE STORY IS AS MUCH ABOUT THE VOLUNTEERS AS IT IS ABOUT THE GIRLS.

Adolescent and teen years for girls are filled with fear and insecurity. In addition to school work, activities and family issues, girls often face low self-esteem, bullying, peer pressure and diminished self-worth.

As girls hold themselves to ideals set by peers and conflicting messages received from media, self-worth diminishes along with the chances they will take leadership roles or set challenging goals to achieve their wildest dreams. Too many girls are not nurturing their limitless potential.

How can you help intervene and stop this trend?

“Seven in ten girls believe they are not good enough or do not measure up in some way, including their looks, performance in school and relationships with friends and family members.”

75 percent of girls with low self-esteem reported engaging in negative activities like cutting, bullying, smoking, drinking, or disordered eating. This compares to 25 percent of girls with high self-esteem.”

7/10 75% 25%vs

“Girls on the Run is not just a running club, we’re looking at the whole girl and helping her realize her ability to achieve anything in life.”Elizabeth Kunz (President, Girls on the Run International)

Dove® Real Girls, Real Pressure: A National Report on the State of Self-Esteem

MAKE A

DIFFERENCE

YOU CAN HELP GIRLS ON THEIR JOURNEY TO LEADERSHIP AND SELF-AWARENESS.

The gift of empowerment allows these girls to transform themselves and create waves of change in their various communities. As these girls aid their communities, our region becomes stronger too. CoachBuild a foundation of leadership and wellness for young girls that will last a lifetime. As a coach, you can teach and learn what holistic health and bold leadership means for girls and women today.

“One 3rd grade girl during her first year of Girls

on the Run, told me “I really want to run because

I heard when you run, you sweat, and when you

sweat you lose weight. I remember trying to

get her out of that mindset. Next year during

the adjective/name exercise, she introduced

herself as beautiful Brianna. That stuff gets me.

She learned that she has value and she can be

proud of herself and see her own beauty. That’s

when I knew that had to be Girls on the Run.” Ellie Wilhelm (Assistant Coach & SoleMate)

Practice Partner See the direct impact of your time spent with Girls on the Run. Empower girls during their weekly lessons.

“There was one young lady, I think

she was in 4th grade. I spoke about

healthy eating during one lesson,

and afterwards she came up to me

to ask me particular questions about

what’s healthy and what’s not healthy. When I

came back to practices she would regularly tell

me things like, ‘Mrs. Carin I had an apple or I

had an orange today!’ So I knew that the lesson

had resonated and a seed was planted in her.”

Carin Buchannan (5k Committee Member & Practice Partner)

SoleMateFundraise & run with the support of your SoleMate family.

“For a lot of us this was our first

time running a marathon. So there

was a lot of fear, hesitation and

doubt, but we were all able to

help each other overcome that. To

go there and be part of a team and see these

people in person, to talk and hug them; it was

just fantastic. Girls on the Run took such good

care of us. It was one of the best experiences

of my life.” Kate Stewart (Coach & SoleMate)

BUT, GIRLS ON THE RUN’S CAPACITY TO SUPPORT GIRLS LARGELY RELIES UPON THE

MAKE A

DIFFERENCE

GIRLS ON THE RUN NEEDS LOCAL LEADERS LIKE YOU TO TEACH AND DEVELOP THESE EMERGING LEADERS. You do not need to be a perfect mentor, coach or runner; you are enough. Girls on the Run wants leaders who care about empowering girls and who are open to learning too.

Registration is on the rise in St. Louis and we don’t want to turn any girl away. We need more volunteers to support the young ladies who daringly sign-up for this life-changing program.

1: Head Coach - Facilitate lessons and practices twice a week during the 10-week season.

2: Assistant Coach - Facilitate lessons and practices at least once a week during the 10-week season.

3: Site Liaison- Serve as space and materials coordinator and point of contact with Girls on the Run staff.

4: Practice Partner – Support coaches and girls during practice and cheer and run with the girls.

5: Solemate – Raise money for Girls on the Run during your next race.

6: 5K Committee – Plan the culminating 5k event and celebration for the girls.

7: 5K Volunteer- Duties range from handing out t-shirts and water to cheering on the girls.

8: Volunteer – Assist our staff with office or program logistics.

There are many ways to help, choose one and run with it!

“Girls need to know they have a voice in this world.

Girls on the Run reaches and finds girls to help them

understand that they are important and because of

that they can make a difference in this world.”Jolene Yerger (Coach & Parent)

SEE THEIMPACT

GIRLS ON THE RUN HAS DISRUPTED THIS CYCLE FOR ONE MILLION GIRLS. HELP US REACH THE NEXT MILLION:

Our two programs — Girls On The Run (3rd through 5th graders) and Heart & Sole (6th through 8th graders)—disrupts the cycle of low self-esteem and diminished self-worth in girls in three distinctive ways:

A Curriculum Developing the Whole GirlMentoring & CoachingPhysical Activity

COMPREHENSIVE CURRICULUM:

Girls on the Run’s curriculum is focused on developing and empowering the whole girl during weekly leassons −her brain, spirit, body, relationships and heart.

“My teen years were not easy. In my early teens, I

was all about my body. I obsessed about how I could

look more like that and worked hard at making

myself into their image. Then later in my teen years,

when my body failed me by not being skinny enough,

not being pretty enough, not being enough, I became

all about my brain. All that mattered then was

school and grades. I stayed after school to get extra

help, studied late into the night, lost all friendships

and had no social life. Those were my teens: body

and brain. That’s all. I missed was the opportunity

to develop (even acknowledge) the other parts of

myself during that pivotal time of life.”Heather Britt, PhD (Vice President of Programming, Girls on the Run International)

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SEE THEIMPACT

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY:

Through training and running a 5k, girls learn critical skills for future success—long-term goal setting, perseverance, and tenacity.

MENTORING:

One of the most important aspects of the program is mentoring. Coaches and volunteers not only teach the girls how to train for a 5k, but how to apply the lessons from the curriculum to all areas of their lives.

These pieces together build up each girl and forever changes how she sees herself, others and the world.

“Girls on the Run challenges girls to set goals that seem impossible.”

Kate Stewart (Coach & SoleMate)

“Real world application is what makes this program so special.”

Carin Buchannan (5K Committee Member/Practice Partner)

SEE THEIMPACT

LASTING IMPACT

Girls on the Run is making a measurable and lasting impact in the lives of girls, their families and their communities all around the world. Every girl impacted by our program creates ripples of change within the world around them.

IMPACTING GIRLS

Girls who began with lower than average levels of confidence, connection to peers, character, and physical activity frequency, and higher scores on sedentary behaviors showed statistically significant improvements from pre-season to post-season.

“...girls who had been in the program

were more behaved and served as

role models in their classrooms.”Ellie Wilhelm (Assistant Coach & SoleMate)

TV and screen time dropped

Confidence, character, & connection increased

SEE THEIMPACT

“There wasn’t a program like this when my

daughter was in grade school. She played tee-

ball one season and that was the end of her

physical activity. She started running more

once her cousins started Girls on the Run. We

do races as a family frequently now.”Jim Werner (Race Volunteer)

“You have a girl who’s involved with Girls on the

Run and it does affect other people, it branches

out. I started running because of my friend, who

started because his daughter signed up for Girls

on the Run. This one girl brought active, healthy

habits to people she will never even know. Any

given season Girls on the Run is serving thousands

of girls and if you think about the lessons girls

are bringing home about wellness, inspiration

and self-worth, the impact is huge.”Kate Stewart (Coach & SoleMate)

IMPACTING FAMILIES IMPACTING COMMUNITY MEMBERS

Whether you want to help foster wellness, build confidence or develop future leaders, volunteering for Girls on the Run provides a platform of success. The sense of accomplishment doesn’t just come from completing a 5K, it comes from the knowledge that you made a difference in someone’s life. It doesn’t matter if you’re a coach or participant, race volunteer or committee member, practice partner or solemate, to be a part of Girls on the Run is to be a part of an organization whose impacts last a lifetime.

FOR MORE INFO:www.girlsontherunstlouis.org